


Parts

by SpaceSealAU



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-29 05:58:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12624711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceSealAU/pseuds/SpaceSealAU
Summary: or Teenage Love and Dismemberment.





	Parts

**Author's Note:**

> As usual in my fics, something terrible happens to a beloved character, but this time nothing that didn't happen already in canon.

“It’s alright.” Valka breathed, hands outstretched towards the blazing monstrous nightmare that illuminated the darkened sky above Berk.  Its yellow eyes were unmoved as she cooed to it.  “We’re all friends here.” She’d whispered.  “We can be friends.”

The dragon, one of a dozen burning the town that night, wheeled upwards into the sky.  She watched it in stunned awe as it turned, tucked its wings, and dove.

Gobber saw her there, a sillouette on the hilltop, arms outstretched to the fire in the sky.  The night was filled with panic as voices screamed and cried and bellowed orders and for help and for mercy.  The air was thick with smoke and the rattling brays of dragons, and Valka’s upturned face began to light as the burning sky plummeted towards her.

High on the hillside the chief was screaming orders with a pointed sword, gesturing in broad sweeps.  He could hear Stoik’s voice somewhere in the crowd, but his friend was nowhere to be seen.

Gobber didn’t hesitate.  He ran towards Valka, screaming something that wasn’t her name, and slammed into her side, violently pushing her out of the way as above, the blazing monstrous nightmare was close enough to see the whites of its eyes.  Both hit the ground moments before the dragon slammed into the ground, claws cracking the cobblestones where the two teenagers had just stood.  Gobber, pinning his best friend’s girlfriend to the ground, had a moment to look into Valka’s eyes as the monstrous nightmare loomed behind him.  She was looking at him without a trace of fear, only confusion. 

Then the monstrous nightmare grabbed his leg, and Gobber wouldn’t remember the rest of what happened until much later.

 

In the twilight after the attack, Valka’s parents told him she was up at Gothi’s.  Fearing the worst, Stoik had run the distance from the great hall to Gothi’s hut, bursting through the door to find her standing, looking at him, her green dress splattered with black.  He grabbed her by the shoulders, a grin breaking over his face, but her downward glance brought him to look at the form laying on a pallet at her feet.

Gobber, blonde haired friend of those long childhood days, lay sweating and pale on the mat.  When he saw Stoik looking down at him he offered a shaky grin, the reassurance clearly for show.

“Where’s the rest of you?” Stoik blurted, wide eyed as he stared down at the abbreviated teen.

Gobber’s smile became almost apologetic.  “Monstrous Nightmare.  Skipped it clean off.” He managed, though his voice trembled a little.  “You think this is bad, you should have seen what the dragon looks like.”

Stoik swallowed, clearly thrown.  “You keep this up, you’re gonna be a head in a wheelbarrow by Snoggletog.” He replied shakily, trying to match Gobber’s tone. 

Gobber shrugged, lifting his hook.  “You can always get me a new hat.” He said tiredly, and Stoik laughed, even though nothing was funny.

 

In the quiet cabin, Gothi out gathering herbs and Stoik finally sleeping, Valka leaned down over Gobber’s pallet, where the boy had been drifting fitfully in and out   He caught her eyes, an expression like fear flashing across them before it softened into bloodless passivity.

“Why didn’t you tell him?” Valka whispered, tentatively covering Gobber’s cold hand with her own.

Gobber swallowed, eyes sweeping the room to see if they were alone.  “Tell him what?”

“That you tried to save me.” She said, squeezing.  “You only told him about the dragon, you didn’t tell him why it happened.”

His eyes rolled away from her.  “Does it matter?” he said, sounding exhausted.

“It does to you!” she insisted.  Then, softer. “I know how you feel about him.”

“Oh?” he said blandly, not looking at her.

Valka nodded. “You could have just stood there and you would have had Stoik all to yourself.  He wouldn’t have even known you were involved.  You WOULDN’T be.”

Gobber made a hoarse sound Valka realized was a laugh.  “And then?  He loves you.”

Valka’s face pinkened.  “He said that?”

“Only a dozen times a day since he was 13.  It took him three years to work up the courage to ask you out.” Gobber said, sounding tired. 

Valka chewed her lip, leaning in a little closer.  “Are you…going to tell him?”

Gobber wasn’t looking at her.  “No.  Like I said…he loves you.”

“But what about you?” 

The smile Gobber gave her made her suddenly want to cry.  “He’s my best friend, Valka.  He knows what he wants.  And I’m not going to try to stand in his way.”

Valka glanced to the bench where Stoik was snoring, thumb half in his mouth and not quite cutting the picture of the valiant chief to be he tried to embody. 

If it had been her, she knew she would not have done the same.


End file.
